Jar holder



G. H. SCOTT.

JAR HOLDER.

APPLICATION 'FlLEDj JAN. 12. 1921.

Patented Sept. 26, 1922.

5y 47M, 47M {KM az zorm s Patented ept. 26, 1922.

Ul lllTEl) @TJFES GEORGE E. SCOTT, 0F ERIDGEWATER, lv'fASSACHUSETTS.

JAR HOLDER.

Application filed January 12, 1921. Serial No. 436,663.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. Soorr, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Bridgewater, in the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Jar Holders, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a jar-holding and lifting device, and more particularly to a device of this character which is readily collapsible for transportation or storage.

In the canning of fruits and other perishable materialby what is commonly known as the cold-pack process in which glass jars are employed as containers for the material, it is usual to pack the fruit or other substance in the jar while cold and. after loosely fitting the cover in place, the jar is subjected to the action of boiling water or steam in a suitable boiler for the necessary time to complete the sterilization of the contents. In order to prevent undue local heating, the jar should be raised slightly from the bottom of the boiler and for this purpose as well as to assist in the ready removal of the jar from the hot water after the process is complete, various devices in the form of racks, frames, etc., have been devised, wherein the jar may be supported during the process and by means of which the jar may be lifted, Such frames have usually been formed of rigidly connected parts which render them expensive of transportation due to the large amount of space occupied. Moreover, as such devices are ordinarily employed during but a small fraction of the year, by reason of their cumbersome character they are often times a source of annoyance to the house wife who finds considerable difliculty in providing proper storage space for them when not in use.

In certain types of rack previously devised, there has been no adequate provision for firmly positioning the jar in its compartment, and thus there arises the possibility of slipping or tilting of the jar dur ing the manipulation of the rack by the op:

erator or by the violent ebullition of the water in the boiler, thus resultingin the slopping of the contents of the jar with increased possibility of failure to produce proper sterilization. i

The present invention has for its object the production of a jar holding. rack which, while of simple and durable construction, serves to avoid the various defects pointed out above and which are common in jar holding devices as heretoforeconstructed, and particularly-to furnish. a jar holder capable of being folded or collapsed into such dimensionsas to permit of its ready transportation by mail and to facilitate its storage in a restricted space.

As one mode of attaining'the above object, a pair of substantially rectangular wire frames maybe employed, each of said frames having a jarsupporting portion and a handle forming portion, such frames being connected along one of 'their longer sides to permit them to be swung apart to receive a jar between them or to be folded together to form a substantially flat structure which may be inserted in an envelope or shallow boX for mailing. To provide for retaining the jar firmly in position in the holder, the joint between theframes or wings may be provided with stops to limit the outward swing of the two members,- the further spread thereof necessary for the insertion of the jar being provided by the resiliency of the wire of which the frames are formed. After insertionof the jar between the frames, the latter willthus spring back into close engagement therewith, securely holding it in position.

While the twov frame members may, if desired, be formed as separate elements and united by a suitable hinge in any said known manner, it is herein proposed to form the entire device of a single continuous length of wire having theend portions thereof coiled. about a straight run of the wire to form, the hinge, the extremities being arranged to engage for forming a stop device.

The jar holder as thus made is capable of holding one jar only, but as it occupies but little space when folded, it is possible to pack siX or even a ,dozen such holders in a fraction of the space occupied by a rack of ordinary form, while the simplicity of the device permits its commercial pro duction at low cost while atthe same time making it easy to clean. Furthermore by providing an individual holder for each jar, it is possible to introduce one or more jars into the boiler without disturbing others and to remove any jar without reference to the remainder, this being of especial mix advantage when canning materials which require different periods of sterilization. A preferred arrangement for carrying into eilect the above objects is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating the device with a jar positioned there in,

Figure 2 is a plan view of the device in :tolded condition,

Figure 3 is an edge elevation of the device as shown in Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a cross section on. line AB of Figure 3,

Figure 5 is li'ragmentary elevation illustrating a modified arrangement whereby to connect the wing members and Figure 6. illustrates a iturther and preferred modification.

Atl is indicated a fruit jar of ordinary construction held in position in the jar holder forming the subject of this application, and in which position the jar may be placed in a suitable boiler for the sterilizing process. The holder as herein disclosed comprises a pair of wing members 23 in the form of substantially rectangular open wire frames having longitudinal side members 4c, 5 respectively. The frame or wing 2 is provided at its lower end with a pair of spaced'legs 8, 9, with an intervening member 6 serving as a support for the bot tom of the jar. The wing 3 is also provided with similar legs 10, 11, having the intervening jar support 7. As thus arranged the wings with their legs serve to support a jar at a slight distance from the bottom of the boiler whereby to. avoid undue local heating of the jar and breakage of the same.

At their upper ends, the wings 2, 3 are provided with finger engagingloops 12, 13 respectively, by means of which the operator may lift the entire device for placing it in or removing it from the boiler. The longitudinal side of the wings 9., 3 opposite the side members l, 5, is indicated at 14-, this side being common to the two frames or wings. The wings 2, 3 are united along this side in such manner as to permit their: to be swung apart about such side as an axis whereby to admit a jar between them.

The entire device is preferably formed of a single continuous strip of wire of which the central portion, indicated at 15 in Fig. 3, extends along the common side 14 of the wings. The opposite portions of this wire are bent to form the respective wings or frames 2, 3 and the extremities of the wire are coiled about the member 15 as indicated at 16, 17, whereby hingedly to secure such extremities to the straight run o't' wire at The extreme ends of the wire are bent as indicated at 18, 19, respectively, to form stop members normally spaced apart as indicated at 20.

l /ith. the device as thus constructed, it evident that the two wings 9,, 3 may be so folded together that the various elements thereof may be considered to lie in substantially the same plane, this being clearly indicated in Fig. 3. In such condition the device may be placed in an envelope for mailing or if desired several oi such devices may be packed in a relatively shallow box for trans portation or storage. When the device is to be used, the wing members 2, 3' are swung apart about the side 1 1- as an axis. During the first part of such swinging moven'ient the run of wire 15 is subjected to slight torsional strain but not suiiicient appreciably to resist relative movement of the wing .lnQIIllJGlS. When, however, the stop devices 18, 19 come into contact, the member 14L is rendered much more rigid so that any further spreading oi the members a, 5 oi? the wings serve to subject the wings themselves to bending stress. As it is necessary to spread the wings to some extent after the stop members 18, 19 meet, in order to pass the jar between the members 5, it is clear that when the jar has been prope l placed in position, the members 1, 5 will be resiliently pressed against the same, whereby the jar centered in the device and cause :Erictionally to the several longitudinal members 4, 5, 1 1. Thus the jar is securely held in position so that it cannot be tipped within the holder.

A modified form of connection between the frames, is indicated in the 1i herein the frames 2 3 are for-net from c lengths of wire. In this case t frame 3 is formed as a continuous structur having its ends secured together at 30, 31 by coiling the ends of the wire one about the ther. The ends oi? the frame 2 however, are coiled loosely about the member 1. 1 at the points 32, respectively thus forming true hinge joints between the frames. The end 34L of the wire iorming the frame 3- may be bent indicated for engagement with the end 35 or": the wire Forming the frame member 2. The parts 34-, 35 thus form stops to limit the free swinging oi the frames or wings about the member 1 1 as an axis. l Vith this arrangement also, it is evident that the device may be tolded into a fiat condition for transportation or storage. In this case there is no tendency for the frame to close of itself, the wings being freely movable until stopped by the engagement of the members 3%, 35. These stop members are arranged, however, to limit the opening of the device so as to prevent the tree insertion of a jar between the win s except by the springing oi": the latter apart, thus securing a resilient engagement of the longitudinal members of the wings with the sides of the ar.

A. 1illl.'l3ll6i, and what may be considered a preferred modification of the device is illustrated in Figure 6, in which the wings 2 3 are formed of a continuous length of wire as in the device of Figure 1, the member 14? forming the common side of the two wings. In this case the extremities of the wire are coiled about the member 14L" as indicated at 45, 46 respectively to form hinges. No stops are employed however, as it is found that the natural resiliency of the wire forming the member 14* is sufficient to secure the desired results without the provision of stop elements.

Having thus described the invention in a preferred embodiment of the same, what I claim and desire to secure by the United States Letters Patent is:

l. A jar holder comprising integrally united elements resiliently engageable with the side walls of a jar at a series of separated points, said elements being foldable whereby to lie substantial y in the same plane.

2. A holder for jars comprising a plurality of substantially plane rectangular frames normally lying in substantially the same plane and provided at the lower ends with jar supporting elements and at their upper ends with handle elements, said frames being united along corresponding edges whereby to permit them to be swung apart.

3. A jar holder comprising a pair of plane wing members normally lying in sul stantially the same plane and secured together for limited relative angular movement, each of said members havin a pair of legs and a jar supporting element.

4. A jar holder comprising a pair of jar engaging frames normally lying in substantially the same plane and having one side member of each in common, said frames being relatively movable about said common side as an axis, whereby to permit the entrance of a jar therebetween.

5. A jar holder comprising a pair of jar engaging wings, the elements ofthe respective Wings, lying substantially in the same plane, said wings being movably connected one to the other, and rigid stops for limiting the movement of said members relatively one to the other.

6. A jar holder comprising a pair of plane wire frames having one side in common, said frames being integral with said side and relatively movable about said side as an axis thereby subjecting the wire forming said side to torsional strain.

7. A jar holder comprising a pair of substantially plane frames of resilient material, said frames having one side in common and being relatively movable about said side as an axis, and means for limiting said. movement, the resiliency of said frames permitting the free edges thereof to be further separated after movement about said axis has ceased.

8. A jar holder comprising a continuous length of wire forming a pair of substantially plane and like, jar engaging frames, the ends of said length of wire comprising coils encircling a straight run of the wire, whereby to form a joint permitting angular separation of the frames.

9. A jar holder comprising a continuous length of wire. having its ends coiled about its central portion, the intermediate lengths of wire forming substantially like plane frames for engaging the sides and bottom of a jar.

10. A jar holder comprising a continuous.

length ofwire forming a pair of substantially like, open frames, said frames having one side in common, each of said frames having a pair of legs and a jar supporting element at one end, and a finger engagingloop at the other end, the free longitudinal sides of said frames, together with said common side constituting elements for engaging the side walls of a jar.

Signed by me at Boston, lilassachusetts,

this 7th day of January, 1921..

GEORGE SCOTT. 

